Sword Expert Reacts to The Witcher (Netflix)
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- Ever wondered how realistic the sword fighting is in Netflix's The Witcher? Check out this Witcher reaction video from a genuine sword expert. We got Matt Easton, a Historical European Martial Artist, Antique Arms Dealer, and owner of the fencing club Schola Gladiatoria, to react to fight and training scenes from The Witcher Season 1 and 2. Here's his sword-fighting and HEMA expert opinion on just how realistic The Witcher show is.
From breaking down the Blaviken Alley fight, to why sword throwing isn't such a bad idea, and more, Matt breaks down these exciting Witcher fights and analyses some of the most iconic Witcher scenes.
Want to watch more of Matt's own videos? Make sure to check out his Scholagladiatoria RUclips channel: / @scholagladiatoria
#IGN #TheWitcher #Witcher
Loved reviewing these fights. The Witcher choreography and Henry Cavill's action scenes are really good quality overall, and I was STUNNED to see proper techniques, that seem to be straight out of the historical HEMA treatises, put into the latest stuff. The Witcher team are doing great work and I wish more movie/TV fights could be up to this standard. Fun as always to collaborate with IGN on this!
As always, Matt, it’s nice to hear analyses from people who understand both technique and….*context* 😉
Always been a fan of your channel, Matt, finally get to see you interviewed in one of these! XD
thanks for th is
Still waiting for Geralt to end someone rightly by throwing a pommel...
Nice review by you too, like when you said probably it's because of camera and all.... seeing their side too
Just shows once again that Henry carries the whole show on his back. He got that full love and passion and it really really shows.
josef Marslof :- The Witcher is definitely an ensemble production, but Henry Cavill is the unquestionably the star of the show. Apparently he is also a great guy on and off the set.
You'd think there wouldn't be room with both the swords as well!
@@blueeyeswhitedragon9839 hes an absolute nerd that loves the witcher, and warhammer 40k too, and we all love him for it
This season was course correction done right. All characters (even triss) feel more like themselves than last season
He literally does. And it’s probably because he knows and respects the source material more than the showrunner herself
When you’re a Witcher, yes, you can extract a blade from someone’s head like that
*Yes*
hell you even can extract it from a goddamn white dragon's head
The problem is also the sword. A steel sword will be under great stress and difficulty to brute force push through the bones of a human head/face at point blank.
No you cant. Its not a matter of strenght or speed of wielder but a matter of material friction and body mechanics.
@@abalayn22 A Witcher’s sword is made of a special iron called meteorite so it can take more stress etc.
The spinning is actually explained in the books, Witchers are trained to fight monsters rather than humans. As such they are constantly fighting against swarms of monsters which attack in a mindless fashion. The spinning fighting style of a witcher reflects this as they are constantly fighting numerous enemies from multiple angles that attack in rather predictable ways due to a lack of intelligence.
well henry isn't the only one spinning like a top in the show so that argument doesn't really work
@@rance8838 well in the renfri fight, she spins a lot more. It looked like most of her attacks spun in some fashion
@@rance8838 Yeah but Renfri died, clearly didn't work out for her haha
there was more than one witcher school. Geralt learned in the school of the wolf(hence the medal) which is prioritse spinning with speed rather than brute strength
@@aronnemcsik Cat School spins more, and faster.
Your positive review of the Witcher's fight sequences was refreshing.
Many experts seem to revel in proving their own expertise by giving negative feedback on the movie sequences. Your use of medieval graphics was fantastic teaching techniques. Kudos to you sir!
Matt likes context for any move above all other things.
Except that it's pointless evaluating these fight scenes without taking into consideration the fact that Geralt is a witcher. He is supposed to have inhuman reflexes etc. Also he has tens of years of experience which should give him an advantage. In the movie Troy they specifically tried to make Achilles seem invulnerable. Same should apply here to some extent
Love listening to this guy. He's very passionate and knowledgeable.
Thank you!
Especially in this context. Huehuehue
not really, he thinks that HEMA is a historically correct way of combat, have a look at how they "attack" each other, not a splintered shield to be found and no-one is out to murder you by chopping you to tiny bits, "its against the rules" lol
@@inspectorcal Those were certainly a lot of words.
@@inspectorcal You need to see a therapist.
So glad they got an actual expert this time - Matt is a fkn baller.
He certainly is hehe :)
Been watching his stuff for years and still do double-takes at how casually he unleashes speed and precision with a blade - 13:24
About the fight in the temple at night. Geralt is a witcher who can see things more clearly in the dark. He got an advantage already with crowd control situation. Also, he tried to take down the enemies non lethally at first because the temple forbidden blood being spilled (death), only then when he was about to be killed that he finally forced to kill enemy one after another.
You are absolutely right about everything.
But „crowd control” is not what you think it is.
Something the visual medium of film struggles to get across is just how fast Geralt - and witchers in general - is. He's almost twice the speed and strength of an unmutated human and that explains at least in part the amount of pirouettes he does. Turning your back towards your enemy is bad form usually, but if you're twice as fast as them, it might give you an edge in some situations.
His turn is far faster than enemy's swing speeds, sothat he can put more of weight into his slash while give him vision around him. I'm waiting he fight some human boss with same sword lvl as him, most of human enemy is just thugs untrained or normal soldiers aka minor mobs, not some sword master like the Witchers.
@@BinhNguyen-rz8en Renfri certainly gave him a run for his money.
@@ATruckCampbell only because he was actively trying not to hurt her
One of the first thing they teach you as a stunt man is to slow way down because the camera can't capture you at full speed, you're not even a blur, which means the audience won't even notice that you did anything.
@@ATruckCampbell yeah because he didn't want to kill her. If he really wanted to kill her then she would have been dead in the first few seconds of the fight like all of the other dudes that he killed.
In 15:22 Important to note: Not only did he grab the arm mid swing and twisted it, and simultaneously grabbed the person's face (from the ear!) and turned it sideways and down with his other hand (throwing him out of balance) - if you look VERY CLOSELY: You can see Geralt/Henry getting his LEG and HIP in, likely KICKING and TRIPPING the opponent - by hitting the shin/back of the leg with force - and getting his weight in!
You can notice a small kick/trip leg and hip motion. The camera is not showing further than his waist, so it's really hard to see.
In other words: he is disarming, tripping and neutralizing the head/spine all at the same time!
The problem with pirouettes is that whatever you are using them for, usually just striking normally can do it better.
So in regards to Geralt even if his enemies can't take advantage of him turning his back on them because of his speed, he would still be more effective if he hit them normally.
If you're fast spinning, imagine how much faster your thrusts will be than an average human's
Henry Cavill had Jiu-Jitsu training with Roger Gracie at one point. it shows
Getting Matt Easton to review a fight scene is the GOLD STANDARD.
Love how this guy actually analyzed the fights and explained real world examples that paralleled elements of them to show that they were mostly grounded in reality rather than just shitting on every single little unrealistic detail.
Matt Easton isn't built like the others.
Interviews with Henry Cavil he has acknowledged that he has been a huge Witcher fan long before the series came about so his dedication is from a true passion for the Witcher history. Interesting the input about the fight scenes being better in season two. In a recent interview he comment that he had them adjust the sword so the "guard?" is angled down towards the tip of the blade to allow for the wrist moves he does with the sword because it gives his wrist clearance to make the move. He also has a collection of swords his has admitted. Excellent commentary!
Henry Cavill is such a boss. xD
An important detail about judging these scenes is to remember that Geralt is not human. He has enhanced strength, stamina, agility & speed. So some of the things that probably wouldn't be possible for a normal person may not apply to him. Great video tho. 👍
Best fighters in world still use the same martial arts as begginers.
If youre twice as fast and twice as strong just use the best techniques twice as fast and twice as strong
@@stanisawzokiewski3308 that isnt always true though. more durable fighters will usually use less evasive techiques and walk down opponents taking shots to land there own shots (boxing and mma obviously not sword play) power punches will usually throw less punches but the punches they do throw are knockout punches or setting up a knockout. quicker fighters with less power will usually play the points game throwing 'punches in bunches' to either win on points or wear the opponent down for a tko. all top level fighters may use the base techniques to start but develop them to there own set of skills or body types. so the best techinques for the average person may not be the best techinque for a smaller weaker person (they adapt to there strengths) again the best technique for the average person more than likely doesnt make it the best technique for someone who is literally twice as fast and strong. take the spinning attack as one, most people wouldnt use that as it leaves you open as you spin but has the advantage of generating alot more force. so if you were twice as quick you wouldnt need to worry about leaving yourself open so you get to use a strike which does alot more damage than the traditional best technique.
Geralt is human he's just enhanced
Witcher just are faster, not stronger
@@richi7494 Witchers are stronger as well, on top of being able to take much more abuse.
So glad to see Matt doing more of these, easily the most knowledgeable sword guy I've seen on RUclips.
I've yet to watch The Witcher yet, but I'm very impressed with how the choreographers have the character use the twirling as a way to conceal her next move. She's often switching hands or grips behind her mid-twirl and it's very cool that she's using those SW prequels twirls in a tactical way that makes sense, to an extent.
In the books it’s explained that a pirouette is most often used when meeting a block, and the Witcher kind of pushes off the sword using the force of the block, pirouetting and using that momentum for another movement.
Witchers use pirouettes because of how they're trained to fight monsters and it looks really weird and distinctive to everyone else in the witcher world, since they're the only ones who do it and the only ones who really benefit from it.
I'm in doubt Anjei Sapowski was a medieval martial art expert. Defending everything he wrote with such fanboyish zealotry makes little sense
Don't train alone, it only imbeds your errors
-Vesemir
More of Matt on IGN. I enjoyed his commentary on the Star Wars films. This continues to be a great series using his expertise on other intellectual property franchises.
Another great training sequence that wasn't mentioned here is Geralts solo training in 2nd episode, when he's doing cuts and moves while walking on wooden pillars. His cuts are straight out of HEMA techniques.
Your point about kata is spot on. It is not a series of moves for combat, but more of a way to to form muscle memory. In a real world scenario you can not stop to think, I'm going to use "X" kata. Fractions of a second are all you have to decide the next move. When your body is trained to move, your brain can fire those synapsis through an existing pathways.
I’m bummed out you didn’t have Matt talking about the way Geralt disarmed Renfri. The move he did where he used leverage to take the sword off her hand is actually based on a historical technique.
What technique?
@@Batman-nz2ue we call it google
@@protege1717 Did you?
The fight scenes were one of the main things that really stood out to me in the Witcher - they're incredibly well choreographed, to the point where they hardly feel choreographed at all. They utilize proper, efficient techniques - though obviously, some 'sacrifices' are made for the sake of making it a fun viewing experience. Part of what is not addressed in this video, though, is the fact that a witcher, in the context of the Witcher universe, has heightened senses and increased strength, as a result of a series of mutations, and which can be even further heightened through a series of potions. So when Henry Cavill does something that seems physically impossible or seems like a questionable choice, strategically, it can often be explained by the simple fact that the character he's playing is a witcher!
My Dad took an elective in sword fighting in high school, and wasn't allowed to spar with his classmate because their arm lengths weren't equal. The instructor said pretty much the same thing, it would be a disadvantage if your opponent can reach you too easily!
What highschools are offering sword fighting?
@@gerardangelo7975 I'll let you know more when my Dad texts back.
The witchers are trained to "dance" when they fight. Always move and fight unconventionally as the witchers path often entails fighting monsters of every shape, size and ability.
Being static against a Bruxa for example is a death sentence.
Eskel's fight against the wild hunt leautenant(?) is a prime example.
2:41 and, of course, its important to note that he doesn't throw *his* sword but one he took from the last guy he killed, so he's still very much armed.
Loved that he doesn’t just get mad because of the spins and other fantasy things because in this world witchers are super human with their reflexes, strength and speed.
I’ve been following Matt for years he’s the best
Great to see IGN reaching out to real experts. Matt Easton from Scholagladitoria knows his stuff and is a cool person. Keep it up like that.
@scholagladiatoria One thing about the training scene with Ciri: he did give her a one handed gladius while having a longer sword himself (perhaps Anderthalbhänder) BUT he uses his just like she has to do, with one hand atop the other, not with both on the grip. So he really is showing her 1:1 what to do with the smaller sword.
4:05 Joachim Meyer has a guard that rest on top of the crossed arm, it's Schlussel, the Key. But yeah, he does NOT mention that guard in shorter swords, only longsword and polearms.
Edit: check out the figures for polearms and pike's Mittelhut. It's Schlüssel as well, because the crossed non-dominant arm support the shaft. I've been using the ward as the launching point for unterhawen and pflug-ort, and it's really great with weight shifting footwork as usual.
that is not a schlussel tho, not even close
Matt is an unfathomable well of knowledge! Super grateful to all of his videos and information.
something more actors need to do is to take on projects in which they have an actual interest in personally likr Henry does with The Witcher. You can so clearly tell that hes so into the lore and the story that he actually cares about how the show looks and same goes for the director aswell very well done to be true to the OG story material.
Director of dune loves the books so.. Plus one there
Could you imagine if he doesn't step up and make them rethink the death of Roach as a comedy moment?
loved the video, just cant help but notice that around 14:30 he said that a dark environment changes everything in a fight while witchers canonically have enhanced eyesight and can see clearer in the dark.
That was a really nice watch , you can tell this guy loves what he talks about
The pirouette stuff may be more feasible to geralt since he is a witcher and has enhanced agility and speed. So is also the fight in the dark room which is the dumbest thing you could do against a whicher in the witcher universe.
Especially if he takes a swig of cat
Don't forget, they are all just brutes, being smart ain't their strong suit :))
@@VergilTheLegendaryDarkSlayer outside of the games, the 'cat' potion isn't actually all that necessary at all, its basically just built into the witcher's senses to be able to see clearly in the dark. The cat potion does still exist, but it would mainly be used in pitch black or magically dark environments where theres NO light to reflect off of the pupils to see without alchemy magically boosting them
This man teaches people how to use badass weapons
My dream
Hema alliance club finder
I've been subscribed to Matt for years. Love his work. He knows his swords and everything else medieval
Cavill has done an excellent work as Geralt. Especially if you play the witcher 3, the movements in combat are very similar, with the twisting and parrying
This was great, thanks so much for having Matt on.
I'm very impressed with your knowledge. I've trained in martial arts for over 42 years. It was very informative for me even as an instructor.
You've reviewed Witcher, I'd love to see Matt review Wheel of Time, especially as the series goes on and we see more characters in fight scenes. There are several in season 2 that I'm hoping we get that I'm really excited for
The guys a Legend! Long time follower and subscriber! Hail King Matt Easton
A master of the blade gets to see geralt in action
Come on, people, matt's channel deserves more love! Support him!
Matt Easton is one of the historical youtuber goats
Don't forget Geralt is suposed to be a superhuman witcher with mutations ajusted to beat the living hell out of monsters that are many times faster than a tiger.
Always nice to see Matt on these things.
The fight in the dark is very much an advantage for the Witcher as his night vision abilities are pointer out numerous times
Another impressive example of a person who was passionate about the fighting was Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) who learned to fight left handed since the character was left handed, while she herself is right handed, just to get the feel right.
Henry is a HUGE Witcher fan. He's been invested since day 1.
Re: using thumbs and fingers on sensitive places (i.e., eyes) is a real-life fighting technique that is sadly underrepresented in media, I've seen countless show and movies where if someone used such technique they'd have been out of trouble or at least in a much better place. My father was Air Force and taught me a few military combatives he learned and they're brutal, effective techniques. Remember, he was Air Force, not even an infantryman, and he learned these techniques, so it's really odd to me every time someone who's supposed to be an elite SF type commando will just carry on punching someone in the face when they could gouge an eye or crush a throat.
What a lot of people analyzing the Renfry fight overlook is that Geralt is using raw brutality in the first section as an intimidation technique and is using his speed and skill as an intimidation technique in the second to try and convince her that she can't beat him and to give up. The point at which she understands she can't win is when he blocks behind the back with the tip of her blade and her with all the leverage and still he can hold the impractical and humanly impossible block. Whoever choreographed this fight really was brilliant. Half a dozen times he has a killing blow on her and doesn't take it until she's exhausted his patience at which point she dies in basically one move.
By far the best reaction. Possible to fight like Geralt. Not easy.
This is the most positive 'real life expert reacts to fictional stuff-video' I've ever seen. More of this IGN 👍
Finally scholagladitoria gets on one of these "experts react"...
Don’t miss his previous Expert Reacts on the Star Wars lightsaber fights. :)
@@foowashere yes amazing reactions to space wizards using magic and how their swordsmanship is lacking lol like they wouldn’t kill this dude in a second
At 14:00 as someone who has done Taekwondo for a considerable amount of time I've definitely picked up some injuries a long the way, primarily my knees and back from all the sparring.
The way he makes some points from the perspective of "if a regular human was doing this" while dealing with fantasy characters like witchers reminds me of a scene from the Inheritance Cycle books. In the scene, Eragon gets admonished for blocking with the blade of his weapon and damaging it because he's used to wielding an unbreakable sword that never dulls. It's neat to think about how such supernatural abilities can alter how a character can be expected to approach combat.
Lol what other part of a sword are you supposed to block with?
Renfri wasn't resting her sword on her arm, she tried to use a bit of deception and tried to hide it behind her arm, to prevent Gerald from seeing how long her reach really is
Spins are often highlighted for fighting multiple opponents. Also the reverse grip was used but with a shorter sword, due to the movement with the wrist. So the blade can be brought down away from the forearm to slash, and then stab on the back cut. It’s an assassin move as it hides the blade. It’s also used with the sword in one hand, the dagger in the other.
The idea being the blade stops the edge of their weapon but your forearm is taking the weight of he blow. “He” can then guide his opponents blade down toward his elbow and as the opponents sword runs down the edge you’re freeing the blade ready to stab.
Fantastic video! Your depth of knowledge is impressive, and your attitude toward the show/cast refreshing. Will gladly watch more. Thank you!
Love seeing one of my favorite you tube sword experts talking about a great show!
I just want to mention that weird edit at 2:40 when Geralt throws the sword. I love the show, I love the fight, I even love this silly edit. Just thought I needed to point that out because it's funny.
Definitely someone had little patience with the tracking of the sword there. Haha
Also the guy was falling before he even got hit
Yeah the first season was full of this weird stuff, just like pulling the sword out of the guy's head just looks off.
Yesssssss!!!! Finally Matt is on here I've been waiting for IGN to make a video with Matt for years!
At 7:50 the book is called "vechtboek" which means fight book in dutch. The source is anonymous but maybe we can derive some info that it is dutch or flemish.
Theyre also packing some serious meat in them hose... lol😂
Es bueno ver a my boy matt recibir el credito que merece por sus conocimientos.
Loved the guard behind his back at ~6.10 - a "reverse hanging guard" against a slash attack allows him to retain a strong hold on the heavy blade (rather than the weaker hanging guard used with lighter sabers). Makes sense to me even if it's not textbook!
most of the moves people make fun of are correct but from a cinematic standpoint it looks cool and some moves are used to highlight how our main character is vastly superior to anything we could do
17:33 how to defend with a dagger?
Step 1: have a really long arm
Matt Easton is awesome. Love his Scholagladiatoria historical martial arts RUclips channel
Henry Cavil actually got the producers and props to redesign the hilt of the first sword the gave him because it was too restrictive and didn't flow or represent how Geralt would fight.
Man knows his Witcher.
Why havent these reviewers consider that the show is portrying a man with an inhuman strength to boot -_____-
Because that not what it’s about they did mention it’s fantasy
honestly, if I'm the bad guy, I'd start running the moment the protagonist casually parries a crossbow bolt.
That ‘diminishing returns’ line is also a big nod to a gaming mechanic too, particularly for stuff like WoW which Henry has played/plays.. basically meaning if you use an ability on someone, like a stun, if they get stunned again shortly after that stun will last for less time, and if stunned again, even less time, until their ‘diminishing returns’ status resets then they can be stunned for the full duration again!
I'm surprised he didn't mention the mistakes in the fight against the Cintra soldiers. Geralt uses his sword to pierce hardened steel armor... that's impossible.
ok but he's a freaking witcher
@@aliyaakoub6630 It doesn't matter if he's a Witcher or not, a sword doesn't pierce hardened steel.
@@poilagratter2417 Indeed, strength is irrelevant if the materials aren't up to it, they will simply fail (e.g. why you can't pierce hardened plate steel with lead, even when that lead is moving at supersonic speed)
@@mduckernz lol wanna bet? I've seen lead projectiles pierce steel...it's a matter of mass and energy delivered...plate armor could stop pistol rounds but had only limited effectiveness against musket or rifle projectiles...this is proven many times over during the Napoleonic wars
@@poilagratter2417 yes it does because not only are witchers mutated but they also are experts alchemy and most lilely have specially treated swords. their swords can pierce the skin of monsters and you think he couldn't pierce plate armor?
It's so refreshing to know that the Witcher's fight scenes are at least ground in real world techniques. Obviously they're going to take Hollywood liberties, but it's nice that there is some precedent for the fighting styles (with the caveat that Geralt is a mutant so he does have some extra abilities) unlike some other Hollywood fight scenes (not swords but cc Anakin v. Obi-wan).
Obviously that altered the real world fight styles to account for the fact that geralt, even by witcher standards, is not only faster and stronger than most combatants but also has way better reflexes and mild healing abilities.
GRAMMAR WARNING, IM NOT SPEAK ENGLISH NATIVELY.
About the Renfri carryng sword on her left arm. The film makers botched very important part of her fencing style. In books she used her cloak and skirt in a mathador way to cover her moves and her sword's position, so here at 3:49 she shuld also have some sort of cape or large piece of fabric, covering her left arm to make a destraction moves and hide her blade behind it. So basically, they make Emma Appleton move like her book version and compleately cut of everything, that makes her move so in the book.
FYI the fencing choreographer was Vladimir Furdik - Slovak stuntman, master fencer and actor - he played the night king and one of the whitewalkers in GOT.
He also said that he doesn't know any better actor than Henry when it comes to fencing.
Love how detailed you are. Let me mention something real quick: Witchers are known to have unnatural abilities, speed and strength especially. Would not say it's super speed or super strength per se, but they are faster and stronger than the casual sword fighter.
Really nice video but one thing: I'm a German sword fencer and the "hut" is not called "Ochs" if you rest your sord next to your head it's called "Brech-Fenster" and if you hold it over your head it's an "Ochse" little but deadly difference
More of Matt Easton, please!
@16:00 He's striking his temple, basically, trying to stun or even kill the guy. If you've ever been hit in the temple, it's a very sensitive part of your head and if struck hard enough, it can be fatal. There is a pressure point behind your ear, at the top of the jawbone, but you usually don't strike it. He could also be trying to rupture his ear drum
I’m so sad he didn’t talk about the bolt deflection! That’s very close to how Fiore, a master Matt has studied, recommends you to deflect a projectile like a spear or thrown sword! (Edit: He actually talks about that same master later too!)
Geralt's actor ready for a sword fight after all this XD
Actually, the sword-carry in the beginning and the block behind the back you can find in Chinese sword(wo)manship like Wudang jian.
I’d love to see Matt react to the one shot from season three. Even more going on in that one.
This guys knowledge is very impressive. He recalls the dates and multiple names for the techniques.
Really interesting to listen to and very glad the creators have done an accurate job with The Witcher!
This guy is great, been watching his channel for years, great video ign
Wow! High praise. Fun to find your channel🙌🙌
Nice line break. Law of - suprise fight
That was very interesting. Thank you for this quality content
witchers have increased speed and a "dance-like" style of combat, which may explain all of geralt's spinning
The shorter wooden sword could have been symbolic of how Geralt sees her as smaller and more fragile than she really is at that point in the story? Or they F'd up.
The wooden swords of Kaer Morhen were made for children younger than Ciri
Yes Matt Easton love seeing him
He didnt want to kill her. He was defensive as much as he could, then turned offensive when he had no choice but to kill her.
Love Matt Easton's Schola Gladiatoria stuff!
This was a lovely review!
Cavill got it right, geralts fighting style is suppose to be fluid and dance like that's why he will change grip styles
About him training her with a one handed sword, we can see in the show that Witchers typically use their swords one handed, and only have the longer handle in case they need the leverage. It frees up the off hand for them to cast their signs. That’s also why their blades are a bit short. Ciri can’t use signs but it makes sense that he’d teach her with what they had.
Well since she basically has an Elder Blood she can be taught how to use Sign, even more to higher-level like straight learning actual wizard spell from simple to really advanced one. Witcher Sign is considered a child play magic for wizards.
Holy cow, love you guys, just being you is already amazing, cant wait to cu together!